More Details on Islamic State’s Growing Support Among Jihadi Groups in Pakistan

The Islamic State is gaining acceptance and accumulating followers among Jihadist groups from the Philippines to Nigeria.

But there is perhaps no Islamic State alliance more worrisome than its devotees in the Taliban.

Earlier this week, the Pakistani Taliban’s spokesman and 5 other Taliban chieftains in Pakistan pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The six will remain members of the Taliban but are also now official emissaries of the Islamic State.

This development is sure to have serious consequences for security in Pakistan and Afghanistan (all six of these men are based near the Afghan border), bringing the type of violence and brutal Shariah oppression the Islamic State has brought to Syria and Iraq.

There are now worries that other senior members of the Taliban may declare allegiance to the Islamic State, including the Taliban’s overall leader in Pakistan, Maulana Fazlullah, who has previously voiced support for the organization.

The Islamic State now controls vast areas of Iraq and Syria, has welcomed tens of thousands of Jihadis from around the globe into its ranks, and has become the wealthiest terrorist organization on record, with zakat donations from rich Salafist supporters in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, in addition to an income of up to $3 million per day from oil sold on the Middle East’s lucrative black market.